Teens Bring Healthy, Nutritious Food to the 'Desert'

by Joanne Camas

on 12/04/09 at 09:07 AM

Healthy, nutritious foods are often taken for granted - we have farmers' markets or well-stocked local stores. But not everyone has access to fresh fruits and veggies. Market Makeovers is engaging teenagers with its upbeat, lively approach to social action.

"Do you live in a food 'desert'?" the organization asks. The five signs that you do are:

* Fresh, quality produce and healthy food are hard to find
* Junk food and fast food ware too easy to find
* There are no supermarkets, grocery stores, or farmers' markets
* The neighborhood is overrun with convenience stores selling overprocessed food
* People suffer high rates of obesity and chronic disease, and die younger than non-'food desert' residents.

Market Makeovers has easy, practical ways for teens to improve the situation. Read on for ideas, and to watch the first episode of So You Think You can Cook? where two competitive teams of teenagers in South L.A. race to
buy the healthiest food from the local store with $10 - the average meal budget for a family of four in the neighborhood.

The MM site shares short videos explaining how to green the food desert, one corner store at a time. Community outreach is vital, they say, explaining to local people why eating healthier foods is important. Then you can show store owners that their is a demand for produce and healthy food.

The site has great resources for anyone involved in healthy food initiatives, and the friendly, lively approach makes it easy to digest the facts.

For an entertaining look at the energy South L.A. teens are investing in a delicious, healthy future, check out part 1 of their So You Think You can Cook? challenge.